Resurrection Art
by Pandax-Pro
Summary: Takes place in the Resurrection-verse by elspethdixon and seanchai. You pretty much have to read RR&R first to understand this story. Takes place in Chapter 7 when Steve is out shopping at Kmart. What's Tony up to? *warning* slash Steve/Tony- complete
1. 1 of 3

Hello World! Here is my first attempt at a "short story." As you can all see I am pretty much going to fail… I told my roommate that I was "writing a story where Tony Stark goes to buy art supplies and gets Chinese food. It's going to be about 20 pages." She was like… "you said _two_ pages right?"

This story is dedicated to seanchai and elspethdixon for their amazing story **"****Resurrection, Reconstruction, and Redemption," (on **for getting me OBSESSED with the Steve/Tony pairing and for letting me play in their sandbox! (they said I could—just read the last chapter of RR&R::smiles manically:: )

xoxo

Resurrection Art

The numbing chatter of a hundred people speaking all at once, barking orders, sifting through Intel, spurts of static and talking heads from news stations around the world, as well as live data feeds and translation software working overtime; It was… difficult (if one wanted to be laconic) to process that jungle of information and make sure it all ended up where it was meant to be. The last thing SHEILD and its operatives needed was to show up at a designated safe point to discover it was a Starbucks.

Tony needed to stop thinking about coffee…

Something tugged at his consciousness. It was trying to convince him to come back to his real surroundings. His waking life.

But that transition was always challenging… and recently a bit painful.

Tapping into the Extremis and letting his mind process and organize the communications network, Tony had discovered, was pure torment until he let his consciousness wander out far enough to no longer feel his body.

Reigning himself in was even more painful and then he was left with an exhausted body, a headache that was steadily getting worse, and bones that felt like they'd been set on ice.

And Steve… he was also left with Steve.

Unfortunately what was tugging at his physical body now wasn't as comforting as Captain America's warm presence to stop his shivers before they started.

Tony slowly collected himself back into his body. His first sensation was a drop in temperature that made him want to recoil back into his mind, but the incessant shivering and constant dripping noises in the back of his brain wouldn't let him retreat any longer. He finally was cognizant to his surroundings, the Extremis data folding neatly into the back of his mind.

He was in the shower of a random hotel room. It had only been four days since everyone had been set out into the field. He still couldn't quite get used to so much information being filtered through his head, though he thought he was pretty good at faking it. The water in the showerhead, Tony could only assume, had long since turned to ice.

The last thing he could clearly remember had been Steve solemnly pushing him towards the shower after Tony had stubbornly refused to make an appearance at any store that had "mart" in its name.

The real reason had been that the bigger the crowd the more the electronics, and the more the electronics, the harder it was to concentrate and act like a coherent and functioning member of society. Tony would rather go someplace small with less people than make Steve guide him around like a lost puppy so he could immerse in the data streams. It was bad enough that's what he had to do when they traveled from safehouse to safehouse.

_Passing out in a tub and laying in water until it turns cold means that you're clean, right?_

Tony sighed and pulled himself up from the tub floor, shutting off the water as his vision danced with little spots telling him he should have gotten up slower. His body started to shiver more violently and he searched for a towel with one hand, his other wiping the hair out of his eyes. His vision ached like he had just woken up, even though he'd been awake for at least twelve hours.

He gazed hazily around the bathroom and found a neat pile of clothes to change into on top of the closed toilet seat lid, rolled up army-style. Steve had left them there for him. Tony found himself grinning and paused before he made his way over to the clothes and began working on toweling off and getting dressed.

He was just finished with zipping up his jeans when a data stream stole his attention away from waking life again.

_/Director Stark? Unit four reporting in. Things are ready for the Parkers to be informed of safehouse location 240. / _

_/10-4/_ Tony replied, shutting down that data stream and redirecting the frequency of the Extremis to pick up on the Avengers comlink Peter had been hesitant about wearing. Luke and Danny Rand had already been given the coordinates separately and had arrived there at different times to keep up appearances. The same had to be for Peter and MJ. No good in Doom's robots or Mandarin's lackeys figuring out where a whole slew of superpower was before anything had been resolved.

_/Pe--- Spider-Man…/_ Tony started. _/Issue twelve. Turnip alpha three. Seven seven four. /_ Tony stated the encrypted data that Peter knew to translate into the coordinates for the safehouse.

_/Hmm./_ He heard Peter respond.

_/Do you remember wha--/_ Tony began, hearing the hesitation in Peter's voice.

_/No./_ Peter said hastily.

_/Turnip means downt--/_

_/Yeah, ok got it. /_ Peter said hastily again.

_/Good. /_ He shut down the feed.

Tony tried to smile but he couldn't quite do it. He had to admit that it felt good to be needed even if he wasn't liked, and even if it was only temporary. It was a simple feeling, one he'd never admit to out loud or confess to anyone, but he felt it nonetheless. His thoughts of Peter aside, he hated the idea of burdening Steve with all of this, even if the man had practically stamped his foot down and spat death glares at Nick Fury to get the job.

He remembered the days before Steve's return when all he'd been running on was a dead man's memory and spite. He hadn't allowed himself to stop or break-down because that would have belittled Captain America's death… and Steve Rogers' life.

After all of Tony's plans and secrets and looking at the "big picture" during Civil War he had completely ignored and seemingly destroyed any friendships and loyalties he'd once have done anything for.

He wasn't sure how long he would have gone down that path if it hadn't been for Steve's death. How far he would have gone for "his future" to come into being?

If Steve wasn't in the world, then what was the point?

_It wasn't worth it. _

Tony wasn't sure how long he could have survived if Steve hadn't come back. He'd never tell the man that of course. There was so much that he could never say to Steve. Things he'd never burden that charmingly innocent face with. Those blue eyes…

Even with their relationship being new, it didn't mean that Tony could be. His feelings were tired and cynical now. He couldn't help the way he thought. It was like his mind was always trying to find pieces to a puzzle that Tony didn't want to solve. Calculating and distant. He wasn't sure if it would even be responsible for him to really be together with Steve.

The second that Tony had realized Steve was really truly back and that they might be able to have a future… after his melt-down where no thoughts were possible… he'd realized that his distant and calculating self had to go away. Steve had to be the only thing that truly mattered.

It would be too damaging to Steve if Tony continued down the path that had led them all here. What would it do to Captain America to know his boyfriend wasn't sure he even _had _emotions anymore? It was like falling in love with someone and later learning they were evil. What did that make _you_?

Tony tried not to think about another tall blond he'd once had a crush on…

Ty would never change. What made Tony think _he_ could? Too much time with Tony and what would happen to Steve?

_Just what America needs… an incensed, distant, and self-loathing Cap. _

_That's how he had acted throughout the entire Civil War too… How much of that was your fault?_

Tony shook his head from such thoughts, a motion that made his head swim. He imagined all of the news reporters broadcasting inside of his head being shuffled around like there was an earthquake and actually did manage a smile. He moved to find the deodorant and wherever his shirt had run off to.

Steve was acting like the old Steve again and Tony had had his wake up call. It had been even more painful than his moment of clarity after hitting rock bottom on an alcohol binge so long ago. Steve had known to keep his distance _then_. What had really changed?

Didn't he realize Tony was just damaged goods?

A chill went down Tony's spine as he once again thought that Steve's affection might only be temporary. Tony was his oldest friend. Of course he'd want comfort from _him_ after his own death… Even if Steve's old friend was distorted beyond sensible recognition, Tony was still the embodiment of the old Avengers and all that had been comforting to Steve in the first days after he'd come out of the ice. _Of course_ he'd want to be close to that until he acclimated himself to his surroundings again.

These were the thoughts that had plagued Tony as of late. He thought them as he was immersed in the Extremis data. While Steve was breathing deeply next to him and the only thing keeping Tony grounded was the fact that the man might need him if he woke up again from some undeserved nightmare.

But Tony considered himself to be a person of reasonable intelligence… He realized that he didn't deserve Steve. Tony was historically weak. Weak body, weak heart, weak mind, weak will power…

Was giving into this relationship just another weak move? Was leaning on Steve too much going to prevent him from being able to move on once he realized that he was just fine being alive again?

Tony shook his calculating, worrying thoughts from his mind. He wasn't going to over think things anymore remember?

_Just let it go Stark. This may not last much longer but at least it's here now. _

And Tony was going to take advantage of it. He'd never push Steve for more than he was willing to give, but Tony knew that Captain America was good for him. Things could never go back to the way they were before. Back when the Avengers were in the mansion and Steve would blush when he couldn't figure out the TV remote or when he would look at Tony dumbstruck at the fact that Google was now a verb. But if Tony couldn't be with Steve, he'd at least make him proud.

Being around Steve Rogers was like being around the sun… which was good yet also painful. He felt warmer, stronger, more capable around Steve. Like all of that optimism and good-heartedness would rub off on Tony and he might actually be able to make it through another day. That he might actually be as strong as Steve always told him he was.

It was painful too. Like the sun, there was no place to hide around Steve and all of his failures and mistakes became glaringly obvious.

Exposed and blinded by the light for everyone to see. For Steve to see…

It was enough to make him drink.

The pain that Tony felt about this was the only thing making him think that this relationship wasn't just weakness. At least with the alcohol everything went away. Steve made Tony remember everything… and want to.

Steve made Tony want to feel deeply again. He'd been _robotTony_ for a while there, too tired to emote let alone do anything else.

--

He finally found the light tan shirt Steve had left him and as he slipped it on, Tony caught his reflection in the mirror.

It glared back at him with dark blood-shot eyes and a five o'clock shadow that looked more like nine o'clock. The color of his skin was pale except for under his eyes. He looked like he'd been punched in the face by an angry mule.

"And I used to be _so_ pretty…" He said raising an eyebrow.

His mind jumped to Steve and he frowned.

"Well _I_ wouldn't have sex with me."

His reflection made a face and Tony closed his eyes.

_Where was this coming from?_

It wasn't exactly like him to feel insecure about his looks. Though… nothing was _exactly like him_ lately. He could tell everyone was concerned about him.

_When was Tony Stark going to have his big breakdown? _

That's what his reflection was asking him when he opened his eyes again. "Shut up." He answered. He looked at the stubble on his face, the thicker lines of his goatee.

Luckily, Tony had thought to pack a razor.

As he shaved, the Extremis data settled a little bit farther into the back of his mind. The last thing he needed was to cut his throat. Steve would never leave the room again! He almost smiled at the thought, the corners of his mouth turning up slightly. But it was too true. Steve really wouldn't leave Tony alone if something like that happened. And Tony really had been happy when Steve had left earlier.

Tony had been feeling like a really bad host… he guessed years of social events would do that to you. Steve had been a little bit restless lately and had really needed to get out.

Tony remembered two nights ago, before they had checked into the Bohemian Rhapsody here, Steve had tried to start a game of Poker with a deck of cards he'd found in one of the hotel drawers (their choice of hotels hardly even had a television set and Steve could only handle so much of the bible for days on end). Tony hadn't been able to focus properly.

On top of working around a constant low-grade headache and some minor uprisings in Washington, he had been getting everyone acclimated to the new operating system. Plus Tony had been fairly certain that Nick Fury had bribed someone on Tony's tech team to download linguistics software translating everything Tony had tried to say into German for a couple of hours until he had given up on _giving_ orders and had resigned to simply _relay_ orders.

Needless to say he hadn't been able to bluff his way out of a cardboard box. Steve had made one of those bored grumpy impatient noises he insisted he didn't make and had opted for push-ups and crunches to keep himself occupied instead, which usually meant he was upset about something, and Tony had felt guilty knowing Steve would have rather been out in the thick of things as Captain America then playing babysitter as Steve Rogers.

Tony washed the remnants of the shaving cream from his face and dried himself off with a towel.

Steve needed something to keep himself occupied that didn't include Tony. Tony peeked through the towel at his reflection in the mirror.

It smiled back at him.

"That's a good idea." Tony replied.

He tapped into the Extremis and uploaded the surrounding city block's grid into his consciousness. He looked at the storefronts to see what was around. It took him 4.7 seconds to find what he wanted (well this entire hotel did have a starving artist feel to it).

"Perfect." He said aloud, throwing the towel at his reflection as it turned from his sight. He left the bathroom and went to find his coat, the one with the cash he had "borrowed" from his own accounts. As he slipped it on he shivered involuntarily. He hadn't realized how cold it was.

Actions spoke loader than words anyway. If he could never tell Steve how important he was to him, he could at least try to express it in other ways.

He shut the door to their hotel room and made his way towards the stairs.

----


	2. 2 of 3

Title: Resurrection Art

Artist: Miko

Pairing: Tony/Steve seanchai and elspethdixon

Summary: Takes place in elspethdixon's and seanchai's Resurrection, Reconstruction & Redemption fic during Chapter 7. What's Tony doing whilst his bodyguard is away?

Part 2 of 3

And he's off actually doing things and not thinking in his mind! Took him long enough right? Enjoy…

-------------

Tony didn't exactly remember most of the walk to the store. Maybe he shouldn't have gone out without Steve.

A few news stations had picked up on all of the Doombot turmoil and terrorist attacks that had been taking place in New York and had sent out multiple vans into high activity zones. Tony had started monitoring their feeds as well for better points of view on the action and he'd gotten slightly caught up in the multi-tasking.

The only thing that had refocused his attention back to waking life was that he was now standing in front of a doorway and was blocking the people who were trying to leave the storefront. He gave them a sheepish grin that he didn't really feel, and took a step to the side as they just stared at him as though he had two heads.

Once they were safely down the sidewalk Tony double-checked the front door to make sure his auto-pilot had taken him to the correct location. He looked through the store front window.

Easels, charcoal sticks, yarn, and cloth stared back at him.

He walked in the entrance and was bombarded with the smells of cut paper and fresh paint. Tony looked up at the signs labeling what lay in what aisle and made his way left towards the drawing, rather then painting materials.

Tony found concentrating on all of the little items in the store and seeing which ones Steve might actually use or need to be more challenging then it should have been. The store's security system was tripping him up a little as well. For such an archaic model it was a really loud presence inside of his mind, almost like it was shouting at him.

He glared at one of the cameras hanging from the left corner ceiling of the store… mocking him and his inability to go shopping for art supplies He resisted the urge to shut it off.

He decided life would just be easier if he had one of the store clerks pick things out for him instead.

----

"Excuse me." Tony paused until he had the clerk's attention. The man was in early twenties. "Yes, can I help you sir?" The young man replied, smiling wide, shaggy brown hair all shiny.

"What exactly would you recommend me buying if I wanted to draw… something?" He asked distractedly.

"Uh, well what did you have in mind?" The clerk responded, continuing to smile.

"Paper and pencils?" Tony replied.

The man laughed until he realized Tony hadn't said anything funny. "Um, no I mean, what were you thinking about drawing?"

"Oh," _Snoopy?_ Tony thought at the back of his mind. "Still life?" he said out loud.

The young man looked at him strangely but said nothing and finally shrugged, grabbed a basket, and waited for Tony to follow him.

"So are you starting a new hobby?" The clerk asked as they walked down towards the large notebooks full of sketch paper of different thicknesses. "No." Tony said preoccupied. "Oh… are you getting these for your girlfriend then?"

Tony paused in his step for a split second. "Something like that." He replied.

"Here's a good one." The young man said, oblivious to Tony's awkwardness behind him. He placed a notebook of paper that said_sketch_ on the cover into the basket he was holding.

Tony had quit paying attention. He was working on fixing the feedback on one of his uplinks to several SHEILD agents who were complaining of static.

He and the clerk had walked up and down a couple of aisles and more things had been added to the basket before Tony realized the man was talking to him again.

"Hey… I know who you remind me of!" The young clerk was saying, looking like he'd just had an epiphany. Apparently he'd been trying to figure this out for a while.

"Who?" Tony stated cautiously, curious enough to fold most of the Extremis data into the back corner of his mind.

"Tony Stark!" The man replied, proud of himself for the accomplishment. "Ya know… if you were a little taller."

Tony blinked. "Taller?"

"Yeah! You could be like his older brother or something." He said, that stupid grin still on his face.

Tony must have given him a look because the smile began the waver and the man sounded almost worried when he spoke again. "Has anyone else told you that before?"

Tony furrowed his brow. "Has anyone ever told me that I look like a shorter, older, version of Tony Stark?"

The clerk nodded pensively. "Yeah?"

"Nope! You're the first." Tony smiled at the man and reached out his hand for the basket of art supplies. The clerk looked down at the basket and handed it over to Tony.

"Oh," The clerk exclaimed looking down at his other hand. "Here," he handed Tony something that looked like a white pencil sharpened on both ends. "It's a blending stump. She'll need it for shading."

Tony added the item to the basket without taking his eyes off the clerk.

"Thanks." He stated, voice dripping icily, and made his way to the check-out counter.

----

Awkward moments concerning Steve quickly became a distant memory as Tony made his way back to the hotel room, simultaneously attempting to follow the news streams in the back of his mind; balancing between the rhetoric in Latveria and translation software for the Chinese Embassy. He'd been hearing more and more about what Tony considered to be _Mandarin Activity_ with each passing hour.

Tony had just begun relaying orders Fury had transcribed to him in a computer file, when a news van he'd been monitoring showed something of interest. Tony amped the feed and brought the fuzzy hand-held camera of the reporter into focus.

The Channel 4 News team believed it had uncovered a Doombot procession parading towards the theater district of New York. Tony triangulated their position and tried to verify with multiple sources before contacting the nearest unit under SHEILD command.

He tapped into a few handheld phones taking videos and pictures near the location of the reporters, but nothing that could give him a substantial feed.

Finally the news van traveled close enough to pick up the rhythmic chanting of "Doom! Doom!" That was enough for Tony.

He pulled the list of team locations to see who was closet.

_Great._

He was about to open up the comm. frequency for the New Avengers when someone shoved him hard in the shoulder. Tony spun back and hit the side of a store front as the man who'd slammed into him gave him the finger and continued walking. "Look where the fuck you're going buddy!" The man yelled over his shoulder.

Watching the man grow distant, Tony closed his eyes, re-opening the connections to the Extremis that had been torn away by the physical assault. His head pounded the way it always did when he shut his mind down too quickly.

_//Doombots on 45th Street//_ Tony told the New Avengers. His head pounded harder. He felt the pressure in his ears.

He rested his head against the side of the building he'd been pushed against, letting the cool brick sooth his skin. _//Six to ten of them—the news cameras can't get a clear view.//_

He wasn't sure they had heard him. He was about to try again when finally Luke's affirmative response rang in his ears and his mind. "We've got it."

The connection was cut after that and Tony managed to pick his head up off the wall with a little effort. He stretched his neck backwards and lifted his chin, the pressure in his head subsiding. As he lowered his head again, the sign of the store front he'd been standing beside caught his attention. It was a restaurant.

_Hmm… _Steve_ likes Chinese food. _Tony thought to himself, accessing the Extremis and checking the time. Seemed about the right time to eat…

That's what normal people did right? They ate food and bought things for their boyfriend's to show their affection.

He used to be so good at this. This acting normal thing. _Why couldn't it be like riding a bike?_

But then again, what he felt for Steve, the strong connection he'd built with the man over the years, the friendship that would underlie anything that did or did not last past this week, it wasn't like other relationships that Tony had been a part of. Steve was the most important person in Tony's life, always had been. And the epiphany that Tony had endured, the one that had forced him to change his ways, was realizing that even past death_, he always would be. _

Tony opened the door to the small Chinese Food restaurant and winced only slightly as the Extremis connections with his brain fought for more attention then he could momentarily give.

----


	3. 3 of 3

Final Part!

I hope you enjoyed reading it!

----------

Tony was careful not to let the information in his head take too much precedence over his walk back from the restaurant. He was finally getting the hang of processing SHIELD's entire information grid all at once.

Tony returned safely to the hotel room. He placed the Chinese food on a chair next to a table opposite his laptop.

He dropped the art supplies on the bed. The side that Steve had a tendency to sleep on. So he wouldn't have to go searching for it, Tony rationalized.

_So he won't miss it._ He thought.

Tony was almost surprised Steve wasn't back yet.

_He must have really needed to get out. _

Pangs of guilt that seemed too easily able to penetrate his defenses plagued Tony's mind. He drowned them out by swarming his mind with Extremis data instead.

His constant companion, the migraine, flared but Tony was going to get some work done. As much as possible before Steve returned. Not that "communications relay hub" really had a lull for things to do…

He flipped open his laptop to further process code he'd been compiling to take care of, and analyze, the reports he'd been getting from Washington.

Waking life didn't come back until he saw on the surveillance camera that Steve Rogers was walking down the street towards their hotel. He'd be back in a few minutes. Tony slowly started pulling himself out the data fields, wanting to be fully aware of Steve's return. He'd try really hard not to be a bad host tonight.

Steve opened the door.

Tony gently held his breath, turning his head nonchalantly and giving a smile he hoped wouldn't be too obvious. He'd really missed Steve's presence.

"Have a nice walk?" he offered, desperate not to sound desperate.

Steve replied that he'd had a good day and asked if Tony had been outside. "Uh-huh." Tony replied, looking at Steve walk towards the bed in the reflection of the laptop's screen.

_He looked so good. _

"Just to get a feel for the neighborhood. I have no idea why Fury thought this would be a good place for us to go to ground." Tony furrowed his brow, thinking of the man who'd knocked into him.

Steve said something about not bothering to figure out Fury, but Tony had stopped listening. Steve had found the art supplies on the bed. Tony felt his heart rate quicken.

_Would he like them? Would he know Tony was sorry for sticking him with a babysitting job? Would he understand that these simple supplies were to make up for all the things left unspoken? Would he…?_

"These cost a dollar each, and I can make them myself out of a folded piece of paper."

Tony eyed the art supplies that had failed him, and didn't miss a beat. "The clerk said you needed it for shading." He looked at the blending stump in contempt.

"Only if you don't know how to improvise," He heard Steve reply.

_Oh, I'll improvise your _face_, Steve Rogers… _Tony thought, staring at him blankly

"Bill Mauldin didn't use one," Steve said, folding his arms across his chest.

_He looked so cute when he pouted._

"Are you going to quaff a glass of root beer in his memory, too?" Tony asked, hoping to get a rise out of him. The look in Steve's eyes was enough to make Tony smile. It was just what he'd been looking for.

"Oh! There's food." Tony remembered, trying another tactic to show how much he'd thought of Steve while he'd been out. He hoped it would make Steve happy if he ate with him. He was always going on about getting him to eat.

Even before_… everything_.

Steve wore an amused face as he sat across from Tony and the computer. Tony couldn't properly see Steve so he transferred the computer to the bed, and then realized that eating food with Steve contained _eating food _and took the containers Steve offered him.

Steve sat quietly eating and Tony couldn't tell if he was bored. Erring on the side of caution, Tony filled the silence with what was going on in his head.

He started with Doctor Strange having just reported in and then the conservation moved to the Winter Solider and even _Mandy_.

Tony hoped he was making sense. He felt the links from the Extremis pulling more of his attention away from waking life.

And then suddenly Steve was holding his hand.

Tony felt the Extremis fold neatly and quickly away and looked over into Steve's blue eyes.

They were transfixed upon his hand and Tony couldn't imagine why.

Steve removed the chopsticks Tony didn't even remember he was still holding and held on tighter to his hand.

"If you're going to keep working on that laptop, you could at least pretend to type," was all Steve would say. Tony wasn't sure what he'd done wrong. He hadn't been paying attention so he could pinpoint when Steve had gotten upset.

_Stupid…_

With his free hand Tony closed to laptop on the bed without looking at it.

Steve had been looking at Tony's wrist but he stopped when he heard the clack of the computer lid close.

Steve looked over at the computer. "Don't you need that?" He asked, still sounding hurt.

"Not tonight." Tony replied. Steve met his gaze, and then smiled.

"You shaved." He stated, his right hand reaching for Tony's chin. Tony frowned and grabbed Steve's hand away. He stared intently at it before fixing his gaze on Steve's azure eyes.

Tony could already feel all of the connections the Extremis held open for him vying for his attention. It would only be one or two more days before he wouldn't be able to ignore them like this without letting someone down.

But Steve was his main priority right now. He might not get a second chance at this.

He must have looked really serious, trying his best to keep the connections at bay, because Steve was frowning again.

"Tony are you ok?"

Tony didn't pause. "I'm fine." He answered, pulling the man into a kiss from across the table. Steve tensed at first, not expecting the move, but then he relaxed into it. Finally he pulled Tony in for more.

Tony felt frustrated with himself for not being able to say more. He knew he beat himself up about a lot of things that Steve wouldn't understand, but he refused to share them less Steve feel pressured into something relationship-wise that was more then what he really wanted, all for the fear that Tony would have another one of his infamous breakdowns.

_Steve felt so warm._

Tony had almost forgotten how good _warm _felt.

They both gasped as they parted, together having run out of air.

Steve was already pulling up his shirt. Tony quickly set the laptop on the floor and had all of two seconds to turn around before Steve had him on the bed.

"I missed you." Tony let slip before he could control his mouth. Steve paused, looking down at him.

"You could've come with me." He said, lifting Tony's shirt up slowly. Tony raised his arms and said as it slipped over his head, "Shut up Steve."

They kissed again and Tony felt the world come together in a way he'd never experienced any other way. He felt safe and in control when he was with Steve. Steve's moral compass pretty much pointed true North and Tony felt the voices that had always found a way to hound him stay at bay when he was in Captain America's strong arms.

"I wished you had." Steve managed to say. This time Tony paused. Then he smiled.

"Shut up St--" Before Tony could finish Steve was kissing him again.

Tony woke to the smell of coffee.

It had been so relaxing to feel the gentle breathing of Captain America in his arms last night when he'd been once again engrossed in the Extremis data. Steve was like an anchor.

Now, though, Tony mostly felt like grumbling. Only four hours of sleep was… annoying.

His eyes didn't want to open but he forced them to accept his commands for alertness.

Almost immediately Tony felt the Extremis data swarm his senses.

He sighed and rolled over onto his back.

"You've been getting up really early lately." Steve's voice.

Tony made a grunting noise that was supposed to be, "Coffee now."

No coffee materialized so he tried again.

"I thought I smelled…" And there it was… salvation within arms reach.

Tony sat up slowly in bed and took the cup of coffee from Steve's outstretched hand.

"We have to leave in about two hours." Steve said, now sitting at the edge of the bed and untying his running shoes.

"Kay." Tony replied, leaning his head back against the bed's head rest.

"Gonna take a shower." He heard Steve say. The bed squeaked when Steve's weight was removed from it.

Tony leaned forward and took another sip of coffee.

Finally, he went to go and find where his laptop had run off to when a piece of paper on the end of the bed caught his eye.

Tony placed his coffee on the table and reached down to look at what he'd found.

Tony felt a smile spread across his face as he gazed upon the sketch Steve had drawn that morning. The clear outline of Snoopy's doghouse could be seen as well as the outlines of both himself and Steve in full Avengers attire. They both had drinks in their hands that were _clearly_ labeled _root_ beer.

A little caption read: _Here's to us. I read you loud and clear._

Tony's mind fell into calmness.

He held the smile for the rest of the day.

The End. xoxo


End file.
